The term "Catholic Counter-Reformation
art" describes the more stringent, doctrinal style of Christian
art which was developed during the period c.1560-1700, in response
to Martin Luther's revolt against Rome (1517) and the Protestant
Reformation art which followed. This stricter style of Catholic Biblical
art - launched by the Council of Trent (1545-63) - was designed to
highlight the theological differences between Catholicism and Protestantism,
by focusing on the mysteries of the faith, as well as the roles of the
Virgin Mary and the Saints. It was supposed to revitalize Catholic congregations
across Europe, thus minimizing the effects of the Protestant revolt. To
inject momentum into its campaign, the Roman Church - aided by the newly-formed
Jesuit order, as well as wealthy pious individuals - began commissioning
new architecture, works of altarpiece
art (mostly large-scale oil paintings),
inspirational church fresco paintings,
and major pieces of ecclesiastical sculpture
and wood carving. Staunch
supporters of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and its religious
art included Italy, Spain and its colonies of Flanders and Naples,
as well as southern Germany. Its leading exponents were therefore Italian
Baroque artists like Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona, Bernini, and Andrea
Pozzo; the school of Spanish Painting,
such as El Greco, Ribera and Francisco de Zurbaran; and the Flemish master
Peter Paul Rubens.

History: The Reformation;
The Decline in Spirituality of Art

Two important factors shaped the art of
the Catholic Counter-Reformation, during the 16th and 17th centuries.
First, a growth in the level of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church,
from the Pope down. It was this corruption (specifically the sale of indulgences
to finance the renovation of St Peter's in Rome), overseen by Pope Leo
X (1513-21), that caused Luther to launch his Protestant rebellion.

The second factor was artistic though it,
too, reflected a similar spiritual decline. During the 15th century, Early
Renaissance painting commissioned by the Church or its Christian followers,
gradually became less and less religious. The Tornabuoni Chapel frescoes
(148590), for instance, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, seem to be more
focused on the details of bourgeois city life than on their actual subjects,
the Life of the Virgin and that of John the Baptist. Also,
secular priorities began to intrude: the influential Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506),
for instance, became increasingly involved with the rich Gonzaga family
in Mantua, while even the devout Botticelli (1445-1510) spent time painting
a number of pagan works for the powerful Medici family in Florence: see,
for example, Primavera 1482, and The Birth of Venus 1485,
both marked by substantial nudity. The activity of the fiery Dominican
preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98) -
culminating in his Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497 - was a clear indication
of the lack of Christian devotion as well as the growing decadence of
the time. The situation was further exacerbated during the era of High
Renaissance painting, as Humanism (characteristically expressed in
the male and female nude) became an important feature of Renaissance aesthetics:
as demonstrated in the marble statue of David
by Michelangelo (1501-4), and the ignudi in the Genesis
fresco (1508-12) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by the same
artist. Worse was to follow, as the High Renaissance gave way to the optical
pretensions of Mannerist painting,
during the 1520s and 30s: as exemplified by works like the Deposition
Altarpiece (1526-8) in the Capponi Chapel, Florence, by Pontormo
(1494-1557). This non-traditional approach to art did not go down well
with either Protestants or the more conservative factions in Rome. Another
contentious work was Wedding
Feast at Cana (1563) by Veronese.

The Council
of Trent

To rebuild confidence in the authority
of the Roman Catholic Church, after the twin shocks of the Protestant
Reformation (1517) and the Sack of Rome (1527), a campaign of reform was
necessary. The impetus for such reform emanated from the Society of Jesus
(the Jesuits), founded by S. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), and from the
19th Ecumenical Council (the Council of Trent), initiated by Pope Paul
III (15341549), which held 25 sessions between 1545 and 1563. Reformers
believed strongly in the educational and inspirational power of visual
art, and promoted a number of guidelines to be followed in the production
of religious paintings and sculpture.
These formed the basis for what became known as Catholic Counter-Reformation
Art.

Characteristics
of Catholic Counter-Reformation Art

Reformers first stressed the need to distinguish
the one true Church from the breakaway group of Protestant churches. Artists
should therefore focus on the distinctive aspects of Catholic dogma,
including: The Immaculate Conception, The Annunciation of the Virgin,
The Transfiguration of Christ, and others. Also, any explicit portrayal
of Christ's suffering and agony on the Cross was deemed to be especially
uplifting, and also served to illustrate the singular Catholic version
of Transubstantiation in the Eucharist. The roles of the Virgin Mary,
the Saints and the Sacraments were also a distinctive feature of Catholicism
and were to be illustrated accordingly. Second, reformers stipulated that
Biblical painting should be direct and compelling in its narrative
presentation, and should be rendered in a clear, accurate fashion,without
unnecessary or imaginary embellishments. Third, reformers - in particular,
pious individuals such as Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, John of
the Cross, Francis de Sales and Philip Neri - insisted that Catholic
art should encourage piety: thus artists should paint and sculpt scenes
of appropriate spiritual intensity. Fourth, as to how paintings and statues
were to be executed, reformers stressed the importance of making them
as understandable and as relevant to ordinary people, as possible.
Using these techniques, Catholic art was to combat the spread of Protestantism
throughout Europe, especially in areas like France, southern Germany,
the Netherlands, Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. For an example of a 16th
century Mannerist painter who changed his style of painting to comply
with the Council of Trent, see: Federico
Barocci (1526-1612).

Note: Later, major religious works like
The Last Judgment
fresco (1536-61) by Michelangelo, and The Last Supper (renamed Feast
in the House of Levi (1573) by Paolo Veronese, were censured
by the Catholic authorities: the former for its nudity, for depicting
Christ without a beard, and for including the pagan figure of Charon;
the latter for its inclusion of drunken Germans, midgets and other inappropriate
figures, as well as over-extravagant costumes.

The Baroque Art
Movement

Following the Council of Trent, the Catholic
Church - along with its new religious orders, such as the Barnabites,
Capuchins, Discalced Carmelites, Jesuits, Theatines, and Ursulines - increased
its patronage of the arts across much of Europe. Out of this campaign
of Counter-Reformation art emerged the anti-Mannerist Bolognese
School (1590-1630) - led by Annibale Carracci along with brother Agostino
Carracci (1557-1602) and cousin Ludovico
Carracci (1555-1619) - and then the international movement we know
as Baroque art, a style which lasted until 1700
or later. A typically powerful and dramatic style, it influenced all the
arts, giving rise to Baroque architecture,
as well as Baroque painting and sculpure:
indeed, projects often involved a combination of all these disciplines.

The most 'real' Catholic art, however,
was created by the wayward genius Caravaggio
(1571-1610), whose religious figure painting
was so natural and lifelike - and thus instantly understandable by ordinary
churchgoers - that it served as the quintessential example of Catholic
Counter-Reformation painting. (See, for instance, Supper
at Emmaus 1601-2, National Gallery, London.) In fact, Caravaggio's
use of street people as models for his sacred figures, led to such realism
that he was criticised by conservatives for showing insufficient respect
to the Virgin Mary.

Unlike their Dutch rivals to the north,
the Catholic Flemish painters of the
Spanish Netherlands (Flanders was a Spanish colony) continued to paint
large-scale religious canvases, for ecclesiastical clients. Flemish
painting of the late 16th and 17th centuries was dominated by Rubens
(1577-1640) and his leading pupil Anthony
Van Dyck (1599-1641). Among Rubens' many masterpieces of Catholic
art are: Samson
and Delilah (1610, National Gallery, London); Massacre of the
Innocents (1611, Private Collection); Descent
from the Cross (Rubens) (1612-14, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp);
Christ Risen (1616, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Florence);
Christ on the Cross (1620, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten,
Antwerp); and The Assumption of the Virgin (1626, National Gallery
of Art, Washington DC).

Counter-Reformation art spread throughout
Catholic Europe and then into the overseas Spanish Catholic colonies of
Asia and the Americas. Championed by the Jesuits and Franciscans, it inspired
overseas groups such as the Cuzco School, the Quito School, and Chilote
School of Catholic imagery.

Catholic Counter-Reformation paintings
and sculpture can be seen in some of the best
art museums in the world.

 For more about Roman Catholic painting
and sculpture, see: Homepage.